Here’s a recap of our recent Bruell eats:

On Saturday, I got together with my oldest and dearest friends to celebrate two birthdays at Chinato. Our husbands were there too, though you wouldn’t have known it until we left (boys on one side, girls on the other). For two of the couples, this was their first trip.

The night did start off a little shaky. There were 8 of us and they sat us in a table clearly meant for 6. Sure, we could have all fit, but we would have been packed like in sardines and no one wants to go through a meal without being able to lift your arms. That’s not conducive for an enjoyable night out (and knowing we were an 8 top is why I made rezzies nearly 6 weeks out).

The management quickly saw this was an issue and changed our table. Problem (easily and swiftly) solved. Unfortunately, the somewhat shaky service did continue throughout the night. I get it was crowded and I get it was a Saturday night. But I have to imagine we’d be a good table to have: fun group, lots of food, lots of alcohol and we weren’t in a hurry to get someplace. But there were small things throughout the night that made us all feel like it was a bother to wait on us and that our server had much better things to be doing with his time (forgetting to bring things out, rolling eyes when asking for oil for bread, rather condescending overall, etc.).

But on to what really matters – the food! And as all of our previous visits, the food was stellar. We started off with fried artichokes, mussels, involtini and ribollita for the table. For my dinner, I had my favorite fennel salad (seriously, I can’t go there without ordering this) and a half order of the pappardelle with creamed cauliflower, pecorino and peperoncini (love how there is zero cream in this velvety sauce).

Everything was top notch and happily devoured by all. If you haven’t been, I recommend going soon. And despite the off service this night, we have enjoyed wonderful service on past visits.

For our 4^th wedding anniversary, we went to Parallax. Now this has long been a favorite of ours since he first opened. We love sitting out front during the summer, cocktails at the bar, and the main dining room, too. And they have some of my favorite sushi in town. But I have to say, this was my first trip to Parallax were I didn’t leave wowed and completely content.

I started with the yellowtail, jalapeno, mango chirashi with avocado sushi rice, followed by the beet salad and finally the udon noodles with rock shrimp & pork belly (miso black cod – as always – for Jamie).

I stand corrected. I was quite content and overly smitten with my entrée. Plenty of pork belly and shrimp swimming in mounds of noodles. I was happy. But not so much with my two starters. The beets weren’t cooked enough and the chirashi was just bland (which was surprising given its accompaniments).

But everyplace has off days and perhaps this was one of them. Because like I said, we’ve been big fans for years now and one experience like this won’t change that.

Finally, dinner with friends at L’Albatros. My favorite outing of the three (meal wise) because of two things: Brandon and cheese. Zack is truly lucky to have found Brandon and us Clevelanders are lucky Brandon chooses to call Cleveland home (side note: read more about how Brandon Chrostowski ended up here in Fresh Water). Service was excellent as was the food. And if you’re a fan of cheese, you simply can’t leave until you have let Brandon share some of his favorites with you.

While the cheese is always my favorite part of my L’Albatros experience, I did also greatly enjoy my oysters and braised leg of lamb. And the overall atmosphere is my favorite of all three.

Bruell’s Seared Sea Scallops with Thai Curry

Add olive oil to sauté pan over high heat.  When smoking, place sea scallops in pan with butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook for 30-40 seconds on each side until golden brown and caramelized.  Remove from the pan.  In the same pan, add curry paste, brown sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce.  Whisk together over high heat.  Finish with chopped cilantro.

Roasted Eggplant with Fresh Tomatoes, Feta and Mozzarella Cheese Pomegranate Reduction (adapted from Table 45’s current winter menu)

Ingredients

Eggplant

Method: In a bowl, toss the slices in olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven until tender and cool in refrigerator. When ready to serve bring to temperature on the grill or oven.

Yogurt Sauce

Method: Add all the ingredients together and incorporate well; hold in refrigerator.

Pomegranate Reduction

Method: Place the pomegranate juice and vinegar in a small pot.  On medium to low heat reduce the mixture till little less than half.  Once reduce transfer reduction to another container and let cool.  The pomegranate Reduction should be thick where it can be slowly drizzled onto a plate.  If the mixture has been reduced too much you can always add more pomegranate juice until in thins up to where it can be drizzled.

Plating: Layer eggplant in the middle of the plate. Take sauce and drizzle along the outside of the eggplant. Garnish the top of the eggplant with feta cheese and tomato salad. Drizzle with pomegranate sauce.

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This post was sponsored by Heinen’s. When making these dishes at home, the wine experts have two recommendations:

• For the scallops: ZAZA, a  serious Rosé from Spain that could almost be called a light red.  Abundant berry flavors and surprisingly full body makes this a Rosé to get excited about.  ($9.99/bottle)
• For the eggplant: Alexander Valley New Gewurztraminer // Perhaps the best-value Gewurztraminer from CA. Perfumed aromas and pear and spice flavors make this organic-farmed wine great with Asian foods. ($8.99/bottle)

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New lunch and dinner menus at Parallax. Both menus will focus heavily on the cuisine of the Far East, including a lot of seafood options, from Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand. Lunch options start at $8; $15 for dinner.  New lunch entrees include Japanese Fried Chicken with Napa slaw, hot rice and Japanese BBQ; Grilled Mahi with cilantro oil, Latin style creamed corn and South American pepper sauce; a Corn Fried Walleye Sandwich with sweet onion marmalade, Napa slaw and spicy mayo; and a Vietnamese Sub.   The dinner menu features entrees like Wasabi Pea Crusted Salmon with Ginger-Carrot Coulis and Edamame or Udon Noodles prepared “Japanese Carbonara” style.  Classic dishes receive an Asian twist like Grilled Hanger Steak with Vietnamese Pho and Steamed Mussels with Thai Sausage, Chiles and Lemongrass Broth or Bruell’s Monkfish “Osso Bucco,” flavored with Milanese Risotto and spiced with Ginger Orange Gremolata.

Speaking of Bruell, demo recently started for his latest endeavor, Chinato, on E 4th. At L’Albatros last week for dinner (“French Toast” and escargots for apps followed by the cassoulet and cheese – another outstanding meal), Brandon shared with us that while the team hopes to be open towards the end of the year, he feels January is more realistic. He also let us sample some Chinato wine, for which the Italian restaurant is named after. It’s a different wine – unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. In fact (and I know this comparison will make wine aficionados shudder – sorry), it sort of reminded me of Fire Water, perhaps more smell than taste. I didn’t care for it – but absolutely can not wait for this restaurant to open.

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There’s a new chef at Umami, Matthew Anderson, formerly of Sapore. In addition to some menu changes (though the restaurant’s theme will remain the same) this ultra tiny Chagrin Falls restaurant is once again back open for lunch.

I went last week with a coworker. I thought it was good – but not great. I really enjoyed my pumpkin coconut soup but thought the tuna with squash was overpowered in taste by too much charring. Nonetheless, I’m exited to see what becomes of the place and that it’s open for lunch. We’ll be back.

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Three Browns Sunday pre-game brunches left at Crop Bistro. Load up on brats, double-double lamb sliders, chipotle BBQ ribs, eggs and waffles and the macaroni and Amish cheddar topped with braised brisket. In addition, the Crop crew will be raffling off Browns-related books and on 12/27, meet Plain Dealer columnist Michael Heaton, son of beloved sports witer Chuck Heaton. The first 20 people to make reservations for the 12/27 and 1/3 brunch dates here will receive a FREE copy of Chuck’s book, Browns Scrapbook, on 12/27 and Scott Huler’s book, On Being Brown, on 1/3.

Brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on these dates only (beer and wine available).

Obviously, we go out to eat quite a bit. I was thinking about why we never made it to Table 45 previously and I think it comes down to its location. Being inside a hotel, it’s somewhat hidden from the outside world and therefore never top-of-mind. On the flip side, its proximity to the museums and orchestra is ideal, especially since there are only a handful of places I would recommend dining in that area before an event. For the most part, we like to go to places where we can walk around after, sit on a patio or sit back and enjoy the crowd and atmosphere. I suppose if I really think about it, being situated inside that hotel in particular is the reason why we’ve never gone until recently, when Bruell’s PR person invited us to have dinner, thus completing the tour de Bruell (if you’re a regular reader, then you know I’m a big fan of Parallax and L’Albatros).

Table 45, which is named after Bruell’s favorite table at Parallax, sits on the first floor of the hotel. And while there are a few negatives associated with its location, one big plus is complimentary valet parking (just be sure to have your server validate you ticket). Like Bruell’s food, I also appreciate his taste in décor and how he transformed L’Albatros and Parallax. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for Table 45. The restaurant itself is big and super contemporary with lots of blond wood. It’s clean and simple, just not my taste. It reminded me of a giant, cold, sterile conference room. Perhaps that’s because it’s in a hotel and surrounded by the massive Clinic. Perhaps he didn’t have much of a say in the design and the restaurant had to fit within certain confines. I’m not sure. But we both definitely preferred the atmosphere of his other restaurants over this one. With that being said, there were a couple elements we both enjoyed, specifically the flatware and bread and appetizer plates as well as a few booths that are somewhat hidden – plus table 45 itself, which is a glass-enclosed table located inside the kitchen and provides guests with direct access to the chef (who cooks just for you). I haven’t seen anything like this in our area before; ideal if you have a special occasion.

Table 45’s menu is globally focused, with extra nods to Indian cuisine (a big plus for me). We started off with the homemade naan which featured four different spreads (the hummus and olive tapenade the clear winners). From our table we watched the one chef toss the dough into the 800 degree Tandoori oven and a minute later, carefully pull out some of the best naan we’ve ever sampled. After dinner, we got an even closer look into the oven and all that goes into naan.

For appetizers, I had the tuna carpaccio with cucumbers, tomato, Feta and mint oil; Jamie went with the black bean soup topped with generous amounts of goat cheese. For salads, I tried the Belgian endive with shaved prosciutto and Parmesan, citrus slices and olive oil while Jamie had the wedge with Maytag bleu, eggs, red onion and caramelized lardoons. For our dinner, I chose a new item: the poached halibut infused with olive oil and herbs served atop lentils, saffron aioli, roasted garlic and smoked paprika broth. Jamie ordered the fennel-crusted short ribs with red peppers, potatoes and roasted fennel.

The tuna was outstanding, both in taste and presentation. Fresh, flavorful and incredibly satisfying. I loved the mint oil and cucumbers paired with the tuna. Jamie was also equally impressed with his soup, and so was I after the few tastes I had. I loved the texture of this soup and the creamy goat cheese. The salads were just ok – nothing memorable here. In fact, my salad was missing the one ingredient I was most excited about – the prosciutto.

As for the dinners, it’s been two weeks since we dined there and are still telling friends just how good both dishes were. My halibut was absolutely wonderful. I savored each bite and was truly impressed with this dish, same for the short ribs. While the ribs didn’t have as much fennel taste as I would have hoped for, they were tender, cooked perfectly and left Jamie speechless during most of the meal. Both dishes were executed beautifully and left us smiling the whole ride home.

Zack Bruell continues to impress us with is culinary know-how and creativity in the kitchen. I am a bona-fide fan. We truly have so much talent in this city and while some of my favorite chefs are no longer technically cooking on a daily basis, they are educating, training and passing on their points of view to the next generation, like sous chef Tom Shrenk who was in the kitchen the night we were there.

So while I may not be wowed with the space itself, based on this visit, the food is truly wonderful and a good choice if you’re in the area. Again, aside from L’Albatros and Michaelangelo’s, there isn’t much else I’d recommend if you have plans within the vicinity.

Most days I bring my lunch in, or grab takeout from Pacific East (you can’t beat two rolls, soup and salad for $8). But when I go out, I like to have options. And when I have flexibility with my schedule, I like to head downtown, or at least beyond a five-mile radius of my office

Here are three good choices for lunch:

Umami
I first went to Umami last month for Metromix. I was so impressed, I went back last week with a coworker for lunch. It’s a good choice for lunch – the service is quick, it’s quiet so we could work and the food is good, really good.

We shared the Umami roll, with ahi tuna, whit tuna, shiitake and tobiko. Then I had the miso soup with crab and black pepper shrimp with lemongrass and papaya. Needless to say this was too much food, but everything, just like my first meal there, was incredibly fresh and delicious. The giant bowl of soup could have been a meal all its own and wins easily for best miso soup. The roll was rolled super tight and with such precision, it impressed us both.

Crop Bisto
Last week the dining editor at Cleveland Magazine suggested we meet for lunch. I’ve been writing for them for over two years now, and it was nice to finally put a face to a name. When she asked where I wanted to meet, I suggested Crop.

I like Crop for lunch when I’m downtown. It’s a good menu, good location and I always luck out with street parking (and thankfully, thanks to the Indians’ game today, there were no cops around to give me a ticket when the meter ran out).

I had the carrot soup with ginger topped with sesame creme fraiche and the Caesar with shrimp and corn bread croutons.

The soup was pretty good, although not as good as I anticipated. It had good carrot flavor with just a hint of ginger, but was a little spicier than I expected – almost a little too much heat. The salad was enjoyable – nice sized shrimp, great dressing and the best part – the croutons! I loved the fact that they were corn bread and wanted more.

Parallax
I’ve written many times about Parallax and how much I enjoy this restaurant. Now, you can enjoy it during the day because after five years in business, the restaurant is now open for lunch. I first learned of this this morning via my friend Kyle, then through Zack’s friendly PR person.

The majority of items are under $10 and include entrees like blue cod with black garlic vinaigrette, tempura fried chicken with mashed potatoes, braised pork belly with Szechuan sauce, sushi, salads and even a chili dog and Parallax burger.

Another first for the restaurant – happy hour. Parallax is finally on the early bird bandwagon offering 10 menu choices for under $8

Symon was in good company; Chef Zack Bruell was also nominated for Parallax. There was a total of 20 chefs vying for top honor, including a sizeable chunk from Chicago-area restaurants. Symon was nominated once before for this category in 2006.

According to the foundation, these awards are deemed “the Oscars of the food world,” by Time magazine. The James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers.

What an accomplishment for this incredibly talented chef (and all around good guy) who continues to make his city proud.

A few weeks ago, chef Zack Bruell’s PR person e-mailed me to extend an invite for dinner at Parallax on him as a way of saying thank you for the coverage and helping to drive traffic to his restaurants. This blog was started out of my passion for local food and Cleveland a few years ago. I don’t make any money on it and we always pay for our own meal. But on occasion, a chef will send something over to the table, or as the case last week, invite us to dinner. Although the gestures are greatly appreciated, it’s worth noting that I never let anything influence my posts. After all, if I’m not honest, I’ll lose credibility and people will stop reading.

I’ve written about Parallax a lot. It’s easily one of our favorite restaurants and on my short list of places I recommend when contacted for suggestions. The food and service are consistently good and there is always something new on the menu to try.

On our visit, we started off with two salads: seared scallop with tomatoes, bacon, arugula and white French dressing for me and warm goat cheese with endive and mustard vinaigrette for Jamie. For dinner, I went with the seared tuna with horseradish mashed potatoes and port wine sauce while Jamie had the popular Alaskan black cod with miso glaze. We also shared the unavo roll and each had a glass of the Woop Woop cab.

I’ve had the scallop salad before. I like the different textures and the scallops combined with the dressing. This time, however, the scallops were too salty. I ate them, and enjoyed the rest of the salad, but looking back I probably should have said something.

Our roll was really quite good. I’m not sure if people think of Parallax for sushi. I’ve gone several times for this alone. It’s always fresh, nicely prepared and really enjoyable.

My tuna was also quite good, especially the horseradish mashed potatoes. I was debating between that and the Thai seafood stew. Although the stew sounded rather tempting, in the end, I was very happy with my dish.

The black miso cod also delivered. This dish is a perfect example of how consistent the kitchen is. Jamie and I both have ordered the cod many times over the past few years and it’s always spot on.

While I’ve yet to try Table 45, between L’Albatros and Parallax, chef Bruell continues to earn high praises from us. And Natalie, too, considering she has already been to both at the ripe old age of 3 months.

L’Albatros is the newest restaurant endeavor from Zack Bruell (Parallax, Table 45) in the old That Place on Bellflower space. I absolutely love Parallax and have never had a bad experience there, so there was no doubt in my mind that this French brasserie was the right restaurant for such occasion.

I can’t even remember the last time I was at That Place, maybe 7 or 8 years ago, if not longer. Therefor, I can’t really recall what the space looked like. But from what I’ve read, Zack basically redid everything, from the decor to some structural work. Whatever he did, it worked because the space is quite beautiful. The styling is very clean and minimal overall. There are warmer colors on select walls to help soften the mostly stark white interior. It’s very well done overall.

Before we even looked at the menu, we ordered two glasses of champagne, which then turned into a glass of Woop Woop cab for me and a martini for Jamie. The server then started going over the few specials and we were quickly sold on basically everything, from specials to the entire menu.

Our server was so sweet and genuinely excited about the food. Her enthusiasm won me over and I decided to start off with the soup and salad specials (a lentil and lamb minestrone and a beet salad with goat cheese and candied pine nuts); Jamie had the onion soup. For dinner, I went with the veal short rib and Jamie chose the beef bourguignon.

The soup, which was topped with pesto, was ridiculously good. It had amazing layers of flavor and big chunks of lamb. The beet salad was also incredible, so good that there wasn’t a speck of evidence left on my plate. Jamie also really enjoyed his onion gratinee (that soup could almost be a meal). I enjoyed my few bites as well, but was surprised by how sweet it was, perhaps a little too sweet.

For my entree, my favorite part was the wild mushroom risotto – perfect texture and taste. I thought the short ribs were good, but not great. They were a little tougher than I anticipated and not as flavorful. I’m not sorry I got it, but think I will try something else next time. As for Jamie’s dish, he couldn’t have been happier. He called it sophisticated comfort food and enjoyed each bite (I agree – the few bites I snagged were really quite good).

As for dessert, Jamie was sold on the warm chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream and I went for a selection of three cheeses. We are very predictable – if there is something warm and chocolate on the menu, Jamie will order it every time and I can never pass up cheese.

Up until Saturday night, I would have awarded Baricelli as offering the best cheese selection in town. That distinction now goes to L’Albatros and Brandon, the guru of all things cheese (look for a q & a with him soon).

If it’s cheese you want, it’s cheese you get. Brandon comes to your table with approximately 25 different types of cheese. The cheese board changes weekly and features selections from all over the world plus several local options. Tableside, Brandon will either describe each one in detail for you, or based on your likes and dislikes, make a recommendation. I went for option number two.

I’m sure I’m going to butcher the spellings, but I tried Langres from France, a very sexy cheese as he described it with black truffles and cow’s milk; Case Forest from Germany, stinky but pleasant on the palate; and ozze from Portugal (plus one bleu but I didn’t write down the name).

With each serving of cheese, Brandon relayed a story of its origin and some interesting fact. It was very informative and we were both impressed by his great knowledge.

From the first bite, we were sold. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up and enjoy cheese and wine on their patio. Of course, I’m sure we’ll be back long before it’s warm enough to eat outside – special occasion or not.

This restaurant will be the third eatery for Zack Bruell, who also owns one of my favorites, Parallax, as well as Table 45.

Look for a pizza oven in his latest endeavor as well as a menu that will emphasize rustic and earthy dishes, with an average check around $15, according to a PD article back in the fall.

I’m a big Bruell fan so I have no doubt this place will do well and make us regulars. It will also be a great addition to the area, since the loss of Club Isabella, That Place and my one-time favorite up the hill, Battuto.

I was so happy when my friend suggested Parallax. I love this restaurant, both for the food and atmosphere. They consistently deliver a great meal with good service and this week was no exception.

My only complaint is that since the menu changes so often, especially the salads and appetizers, that many of my favorites are long gone, like the scallop salad with egg or the tomato and corn salad. Nothing to fret though, the warm goat cheese salad with endive, radicchio and grain mustard vinaigrette was a tasty replacement.

While several entrees caught my eye, I decided to split several orders of sushi with two of my friends, including the dragon and spider rolls, Philly, unavo and the specialty lobster roll. They also ordered several pieces of sashimi and other raw rolls, but I still have a few months before I until I can once again enjoy the good stuff.

Even though I couldn’t have what I really wanted, all the rolls I could eat were really, really enjoyable. My favorites were the dragon (tempura shrimp and avocado wrapped in eel), Philly (so simple but always a good choice) and unavo (eel and avacado with unagi sauce). Taste and presentation were spot on.

If you haven’t been to Parallax for sushi, or didn’t realize sushi was one of the house specialties, do yourself a favor and consider it for next time. Zack Bruell and his team really do a nice job with their sushi and sashimi offerings, perhaps some of the best and freshest in town.